HOLYOKE — Longtime Ward 1 City Councilor Gladys Lebrón-Martinez has announced she will not seek a sixth term in this year’s election, citing a career change that will require more of her time in the months to come.
Lebrón-Martinez was first elected to the council in 2011 and also has been a member of the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority since 2011, where she also recently announced her departure. She earlier served four terms on the School Committee.
“It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I will not be seeking reelection to the Holyoke City Council this upcoming election cycle,” Lebrón-Martinez said in a statement announcing her decision. “I will walk away at the end of my term with a tremendous and valuable experience, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished together.”
During the past decade, she cited record levels of investment in Ward 1, which encompasses the downtown, Innovation District and the Flats sections of the city.
“I leave my position knowing that our neighborhoods are stronger today than they were when I arrived at City Hall. From a newly renovated Lyman Terrace, to the restoration of Holyoke Catholic, the Canal Walk, the passenger rail station, and millions invested in new infrastructure and parks, we have a lot to be proud of,” she said.
“But there is more work to do. I look forward to seeing new voices and new people to step up and to serve our community in the coming months.”
She said she would continue to stay active in the city and connected to the many people she has met along the way.
“It’s a big loss for the ward and a big loss for the city,” Mayor Alex Morse said of Lebrón-Martinez.
Morse said one of Lebrón-Martinez’s biggest strengths as a councilor is her ability to connect with community members and the residents of her ward in a “very easy and flawless way.”
“She’s willing to meet people where they’re at,” Morse said. “She focuses more on people and making sure her ward gets the investments in parks and new housing and public works infrastructure.”
Morse, who announced in December he would not seek a fifth term as mayor in November, recalled how Lebrón-Martinez was the first elected official in the city to endorse his campaign for mayor and how the two campaigned together, winning elections against incumbents in 2011. As a student representative while at Holyoke High School, Morse served with Lebrón-Martinez on the School Committee from 2005 to 2007, and he recalled how she hired him for his first summer job at CareerPoint, where she was his boss.
“She became a friend and ally,” Morse said. “She became like family and like a second mom in many ways.”
At-Large City Councilor Rebecca Lisi, who is a candidate for mayor, described Lebrón-Martinez as someone who is very connected to the residents of her ward and the city’s youth, but also to the larger city populace.
“She always brought the perspective of families, especially families that don’t have access to the resources that most middle class and upper middle class families have,” said Lisi who has served with Lebrón-Martinez during her entire tenure on the council. “Given the demographics of the city, she clearly represented more than just Ward 1 because our community is more than 50 percent Latinx.”